a shirt for $0.75 (provided I can follow directions)

After a glorious birthday weekend involving relaxation and booze and turning into a grown-up-21-year-old, I'm back to doing things that are slightly more productive and sometimes less fun.

I started today with some good old-fashioned seam-ripping to take apart the floral dress recently procured at the local thrift store for $0.75. I took apart the sides, took out the 8 ridiculous pleats on the upper portion, took out the zipper, took off the non-functional buttons, and ironed the crap out of that fabric. (Sometime in the middle of SEAM-RIPPING FOREVER was a trip to Target where unfortunately there remain zero one-piece swimsuits, which is a bummer because I need one for not looking whoreish working at camp this summer.)

After seam-ripping the poop out of everything, I cut out a pattern for a SHIRT because I am going to try making a shirt. It's Simplicity somethingorother, I don't remember the number, and I am far too lazy to go upstairs to look at the pattern. I'll include it next time, once (if) the shirt is finished. Although I love skirts and dresses very much, I'm attempting a tank top mostly just because I've never made a shirt at all and it's a SUPER COOL CHALLENGE for myself. Which actually seems like it's going to be a lot easier than all the other patterns I've attempted in the past, soooo fail on the challenge part, maybe. (Fun fact: I have sewn three things with patterns. One was a tote, one was a dress, and one was a failure of a dress.)

Somethin' coo': I noticed unfortunately that I need bias tape for this pattern, also. I've never used bias tape before but I'm excited for it, not only because it's a new thing to learn, but also because I made my own. Usually you buy stuff that matches your fabric, but I made some from some leftover fabric. I used this tutorial, but I don't have a fancy bias tape tool, so I just used my iron (it takes longer).

Here's a picture of the dress before, some homemade bias tape in the upper right corner, and the cut out pattern pieces waiting for me to sew them.

The little green square on the neck of the dress is the price-tag. $1.50, but green tags were half-off the day I went, so I got it for $0.75, and soon that'll mean a shirt for $0.75 and also a good long zipper and some buttons. This is what we call a good deal.

Going to the zoo with friends tomorrow! And maybe even doing some sewing. We shall see. It's supposed to be summer for real tomorrow (hot) and maybe the zoo will kill me (probably not).